


Aching Flames

by TheHamsterJedi



Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Alternate Ending, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Compliant, Explosions, Ezra Bridger Needs a Hug, Gen, Hurt Ezra Bridger, Parental Hera Syndulla, Post-Canon, Post-Episode: s04e15-16 Family Reunion – and Farewell, Sabine Wren Needs a Hug, The Force
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:40:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24426655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheHamsterJedi/pseuds/TheHamsterJedi
Summary: Alternate Ending to the series finale!The seventh fleet disappears with the Purgill leaving the Chimaera to crash with Ezra and Thrawn. Can the crew save Ezra and capture Thrawn before it's too late?
Relationships: Ezra Bridger & Alexsandr Kallus, Ezra Bridger & CT-7567 | Rex, Ezra Bridger & Hera Syndulla, Ezra Bridger & Sabine Wren, Ezra Bridger & Thrawn | Mitth'raw'nuruodo, Hera Syndulla & Sabine Wren
Comments: 24
Kudos: 55





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is a bit of an Alternate ending that was supposed to be a oneshot but it ended up in multiple chapters.  
> Enjoy reading

"Ezra!, Ezra get out of there right now, that's an order!" Hera cried in her commlink and her eyes stared at the star destroyer catching flames where one of her family is stuck there.

The purgills surrounding the falling ship while their tentacles are glowing, preparing to jump to lightspeed. Hera prayed that the force would save Ezra, she is not ready to lose him too.

  
On the other end of the comm link, Hera heard shaky breaths and she could almost swear she heard a groan of pain. Her worry strikes higher and she is trying to prepare herself for what might happen. Not every war has a happy ending. And she hopes this war is not one of them.

  
Ezra is struggling to keep his hold on Thrawn, the Purgills and the air inside the chimera. The wound in his shoulder throbbing painfully, and he was fully sure he was gonna deal with overusing the force later.

His muscles are screaming at him, his head is splitting with pain, and the force is the only peaceful thing in the middle of all the chaos. His body couldn't hold it any longer, so he let go. The purgills detached from the ship and jumped to hyperspace, leaving him.

  
Ezra felt the rush of air in the crashing destroyer, preparing for a very exciting landing like Hera would say. He smiled to himself, knowing he fulfilled his destiny and the will of the force. He honestly didn't have much hope of surviving this ordeal. But he felt also relieved that his friends and family are safe, they could move on without him. He closed his eyes waiting for his end. And as the Chimera crashed and screeched hard against the fields of Lothal while the already ongoing flames rising higher. Ezra Bridger was at peace.

  
The crew of the ghost stood frozen, watching this fireball of a ship crashing to the ground, turning any grass around it to ashes, the animals running hurriedly away from the heat.

  
They stood like statues for what seemed like forever, until Sabine woke up from her shock and whispered "This is our chance", she turned around to face the rebels and said loudly "We need to split into 2 teams, one will go save Ezra and capture any imperial survivors left. The other one will blow this dome and retreat to the Ghost" she held up her wrist and contacted The Ghost "Mart, I need you to contact the Rebel base, ask them for a medical team stat and a ship to transport the prisoners" she said hurriedly.  
Mart Mattin answered in the same hurry as hers "Copy That, Lieutenant" and turned off the comm.

  
Hera smiled at Sabine and stood before the crew and ordered "Sabine, Ryder, Ketsu, and Rex, you go to the Chimaera, take the phantom II, the rest with me" she shouted.  
Everyone nodded and went in different directions to fulfill their duties. As the first team reached the glass windows of the dome, Chopped beeped loudly and threw an item at Sabine's direction. She caught it with ease and looked at it. Ezra's lightsaber. Sabine looked at Chopper, "Thanks!" she said.

  
She activated the green blade and cut the glass into two, kicking it with her legs, it gave away and shattered into a million pieces, the team of four hurriedly ascended the Ghost to reach the small shuttle attached to it. Rex hopped into the pilot seat and quickly took off.

  
Upon reaching their destination, the flames were even higher than they were. Sabine Wren wasn't one to be afraid of anything, but ever since Kanan died, her worst fear became flames. Her heart rate spiked and she hoped she wouldn't find a pile of ash instead of her friend.

  
They landed the phantom II, and the four ran out of the ramp. Now near the burning Chimaera, they searched for an entry way. Not finding any.

  
Sabine whisper growled and reached for the cylindrical weapon attached to her belt, activating it once again and attempted to cut a door shaped opening for them to enter. She finished and deactivated the saber. Looking at the opening she made, it was more of a jagged undefined mess than a door, but it would do the job.

  
The four entered slowly in caution, fearing the ceiling would collapse on them. Ryder and Rex started to cough loudly from the smoke, their helmets not on them while Ketsu and Sabine have. Sabine felt like she was pulling her breath from a narrow straw, her helmet quickly filtering out the smoke and any gases around her. She almost felt constricted.

  
The four decided to split up, and the one to find the main room would contact the others.  
Each member of the team felt like they were in a maze. Charred hallways and dead bodies of storm troopers thrown left and right.  
Rex almost felt empathy for those troopers, they weren't like he was once, a clone with no family, just his clone brothers. But these troopers mostly had families to feed and to care for, they didn't deserve to die like this, in the middle of a fight.

But at the same time they killed thousands of rebels, the Imperial pilots shot down hundreds of ships, and the imperial workers shot Greggor today.

  
Rex stopped and looked down. Tears coming to his eyes, but he stopped them from falling. He took a deep breath and remembered the mission at hand ,"This is not the time, I will grieve later."

  
Rex was the first one to reach the main part of the ship. Upon entering, he gasped. Then coughed, The room was like an abandoned war zone. He looked at his left and right, noticing dead death troopers slumped down the walls.

  
Looking at his front, he stared with wide eyes. Thrawn was collapsed on the control panel, his what once was a white imperial uniform, was now ripped and black from soot. His face was bloody and his right wrist was badly burned. Rex was almost sure the admiral had more injuries, but he'll have to check them later.

  
His heart jumped at the thought of Ezra. If this was the state of the grand admiral, what would the kid look like? His form stiffened from the thought.

  
He searched around the room "Ezra?!, Ezra!, answer me kid, please" he yelled while frantically searching for the kid. It took him a while to spot an orange sleeved hand under what looked to be a part of the ceiling. Rex let out a loud gasp and ran to the kid, groaning from the weight of the boulder, but he managed to lift it off.

  
He kneeled down beside Ezra and took a first look at his injuries. He had a blast shot that ran through his left shoulder, he had a large gash on his head, definitely some ribs were broken by how his breath almost sounded like wheezing, his right side was bleeding from the boulder, Rex could tell, and his leg appeared to be broken. Rex let out a strangled gasp.

  
Rex quickly turned on his commlink and shouted "I found him, hurry!"  
He ran a gentle hand through the kid's incredibly soft cropped raven hair that was matted with blood from the gash on his head and whispered _**"Stay with me, kid, please"**_


	2. Chapter 2

Ezra was propped up against Rex, his blood slowly seeping underneath the clone's armor. Shaky breaths and pained wheezes filled the otherwise quiet room, a rusty smell and smoke lingered in the atmosphere.

Rex kept whispering reassurances to the silent teen, praying and praying to any force of nature to help the youthful Jedi, he was too young. a victim of war whose childhood was robbed too soon.

Underneath the layers of toughness the young Jedi showed, under all that recklessness and stubbornness, he was just an innocent child in a world on fire. He didn't deserve his life to be taken away so quickly.

"Kid..please..just hang on... help is on the way" Rex whispered to Ezra, but silence bit back at the clone. Rex sighed and kept trying to apply pressure on the wound on Ezra's side. The kid's life was hanging on by a thread, and the old war veteran won't risk it. He had to do something.

Sabine entered the main room hurriedly before skidding to a stop, Ketsu followed closely behind. She gasped at the scene in front of her. Dead bodies littered the debris-covered floor around her, with soot coloring their corpses, but the Mandalorian's eyes caught two figures lying in the corner. Her irises became the size of saucers. While life seemed to crash around the young artist, her brain kept focusing on the two figures. Her body doesn't seem to move and her heart rate increased to the double.

When the gloved hand of Ketsu touched her shoulder, it seemed to bring her back, her mind refocused, and she ran towards them, sliding on her knees across from Rex who was holding a battered form between his arms, eyes wide on her fallen comrade and brother. Her pupils kept switching from Rex to Ezra, her body rigid and her mouth won't obey. she pointed at Ezra, speaking almost dreadfully "I-Is he..." her voice died out, her mind didn't dare to assume that he could be....no......

"He's alive, Sabine" Rex answered her assumptions reassuringly. Sabine almost fainted from the relief, a shaky sigh escaped her lips, eyes glossy with unshed tears "Oh Force, what happened to you? Sabine whispered to herself, she hesitantly hovered her hands above Ezra's middle area "We need to get him to a medical station, fast!" she said quickly.

Rex agreed with her "Yes, but we should move him very carefully, we don't yet know the extent of his injuries, aside from the visible ones, we're in the dark here".

Sabine's worries struck high up, but she held herself together. she reached for her wrist comm "Spectre two, this is spectre five, you there?", static covered the comm channel, but before Sabine could reach for her wrist again, a distorted but familiar voice replied, "This is spectre two, did you find him?" Hera asked quickly, a worried tone lacing her voice. "Yes, he's in a bad shape, we have to hurry" Sabine replied in equal worry. 

\------

"Yes, he's in a bad shape, we have to hurry", Hera's mind stopped at this sentence, her emotions overriding and consuming her, she was struggling to keep a straight face, but she has to do it, she has to be strong and not let the others know how dire the situation is. Yes, she may lose Ezra, but she has to keep her emotions in check for her to save him.

"We're almost done here, try to keep him alive, will you? I will be there as soon as I can, spectre two, out" Hera answered absentmindedly. Sabine may think Hera was cold here, but force knows that Hera is breaking, her facade is almost faded.

"We need to hurry up people, let's finish this!" Hera said loudly to the rest of her crew. the crew did as told and quickened their paces, trying to finish their jobs fast. 

Zeb noticed that Hera's mind is elsewhere, she was standing there, yet she was far away. He reached her carefully, putting a paw on her shoulder "Is everything alright, eh?" He asked. Hera came out of her trance-like state to the gruff but soft voice of the Lasat, "No, Zeb, Ezra's in a bad shape and I'm just hoping that he won't..." she said quietly, her words trailing off at the thought of losing Ezra.

"He's a tough kid, Hera, don't worry, he'll bounce back" Zeb replied to the worried Twi'lek, whose lekkus were trembling slightly.

"I hope you're right, Zeb" Hera mumbled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- This is a bit of a shortie, sorry about that.  
> -i struggled while writing this, trying to capture the emotions, i hope i did the characters justice.  
> -Let me know what you think


	3. Chapter 3

Muffled voices, strange beeping, annoying harsh light, and an irritatingly sweet scent were the first four things the blue chiss recognized on his journey back to the land of the living.

Red irises opened to look at a clean white ceiling, the smart tactician immediately thinking of a medical ward, although it was still unclear whether it was an imperial ward or a medical room that belonged to these so called rebels. 

Thrawn started to move his head to look around, a piercing headache instantly attacking his skull, a small groan escaped his lips. The world surrounding him was still blurry, but things started to take shape.

finally his eyes fell on a quite colorful helmeted figure leaning on a wall across from him, his eyes cleared to show a boldly colored mandalorian armor, so it was a rebel medical ward then, the chiss thought.

For a few minutes, no one decided to speak, the atmosphere was thick and silent around the two foes, except for the bothersome beeping of the machine on his right. the young mandalorian decided to break the ice with a little cough to capture the attention of the imperial captive. "welcome back, though i'm not sure if you're really welcome here, but you get my point"

"I thank you for the hospitality young Wren, but i'm quite confused of why you didn't leave me for dead on my destroyer" Thrawn replied with a raspy low voice.

a snort escaped the young mandalorian's mouth "rebellion's orders, if it were up to me, i wouldn't have let your heart beat for another second, especially after what you did" Sabine basically spat back at him with venom dripping from her voice.

Thrawn chuckled a little then winced "I believe you should thank Bridger for what happened, not me. He single handedly killed hundreds of my troopers with his army of mystical creatures. Correct me if i'm mistaken, but he almost blew up the entirety of this planet"

Sabine was fed up with his cold infuriating replies, she ripped the helmet off of her and slammed it on the ground, creating a huge noise, fortunately, no one was in the medical bay at the moment, except for a bacta tank at the far end of the bay, occupied with a sleeping figure floating soundlessly in there except for the machine breathing for him.

She angrily pointed her finger at the chiss laying on the medical bed "You! you almost killed all the people of Lothal just to force us to surrender! If it weren't for Ezra and his plan, you would've killed these innocent civilians without a second thought! You're mad, Thrawn." Sabine almost shouted but she was trying to keep her voice low to not attract attention.

"Do you really believe you're not killing innocent people? that the rebels don't kill innocent people? Most of these troopers Bridger killed were innocent, just performing their duties to earn their living, we're at war, Wren, the cost is always high, but if it needs to be paid to teach your little rebellion a lesson. Then so be it." Thrawn replied coolly. before adding "Did Bridger make it out?" he asked almost worryingly which infuriated Sabine even more.

"You think you care? You're the one who did this to him! I'm only blaming you and your stupid empire. He's in that bacta tank over there, fighting for his life, if he doesn't make it, I swear to you, i'll kill you in cold blood, and i'd be doing you a favor" Sabine yelled angrily before storming out of the room.

Thrawn was stunned by the mandalorian's outburst to say the least, she cares for Bridger's well being, he deduced.

He decided to go check the bacta tank Sabine mentioned earlier, with grunts, winces and a lot of effort, he finally managed to get out of the medical bed. almost falling over when he stood up, a dizzy spell overtook him making him hold the bed fence for dear life till it was over.

He limped slightly and walked slowly to the dimly lit part of the medical ward, the glowing bacta tank was only the source of light in the area. The grand admiral's eyes focused on the tank that stood in the middle of the room, noticing the floating person in there, he barely looked like the tough Bridger he knew, Thrawn thought.

he looked a bit underweight for his age but lean and somewhat muscular. His usually golden tan skin was pale and littered with scratches and wounds, his twin scars on his left cheek stood out the most, mysterious and somehow told a dark moment of the young man's life. his chest and middle area were wrapped tightly, the wrapping was tinged with red slightly on his side. He also noticed that Ezra's hair was rather longer than when he met him last, which made Thrawn ask himself how long was he asleep? Thrawn almost felt empathy towards the young jedi, he looked lifeless except for the rising and falling of his small chest.

He felt a throat clear behind him, Thrawn's head whipped to the direction of the voice, finding the lasat standing there with his arms crossed "What? Feeling sorry for the kid?" Zeb asked gruffly with a sarcasting tone lacing his deep voice. "Surprsingly yes, how much time passed since the incident?" 

"14 days. and ya really pissed Sabine off that she didn't want to continue her shift, I'm her replacement, name's Zeb".

"Garazeb Orrelios, former royal guard on Lasan, very formidable and noble warrior from what I've studied" Thrawn responded dryly.

"Thanks for the info, pretty sure I knew that" Zeb laughed slightly, before continuing "I could stun you right now to make you quiet, but I won't do that, so shut the kriff up or I will shut you". 

* * *

Sabine sat in her cabin on the Ghost, her elbows resting on her knees, eyes looking blankly at the wall in front of her, she was thinking of her little outburst with the chiss earlier, sighing, she should've controlled her emotions better.

She heard her cabin door slide open, the green twi'lek entering her room, but Sabine kept staring at the wall. "What happened in there?, Zeb told me you didn't want to continue your shift". Sabine kept quiet, but Hera's stern face made her answer "He just pissed me off". "Who? Thrawn? he woke up?" Hera questioned surprised. "yeah" was all the twi'lek got from Sabine. "Do you want to talk about it?" , " not really, no" Sabine responded in a low voice.

"okay, but you know I'm always there for you, yes? I get that you're worried about Ezra, we all are, but you have to be strong for him, he needs you Sabine, now more than ever" Hera said softly, putting her hand on Sabine's shoulder and patting it, before getting up and leaving the room.

Sabine felt tears prickling at her eyelids, and she let them out, sniffling a little, she doesn't want Hera to notice her weak side much, she always wanted to put on her brave and tough face in front of others, though she already ruined it in front of Thrawn. she let out a long sigh before climbing up her bed to dose off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- by far, Thrawn was the hardest character to write, i hope i got him somehow right  
> \- I enjoyed the interactions in this chapter , especially Zeb's lol.  
> -please tell me what you think in the comments!


	4. Chapter 4

Two weeks earlier  
-

The medical ward on Yavin IV was in a hurry, shouts can be heard from the nurses, and medical droids rolling on their tiny wheels, alcoholic scents that reach a few klicks beyond the bay doors, the smell of bacta evident in the air. 

A certain mandalorian was battling her way through the gaggle of medical personnel, eyes wide and frantically searching for any sign of her dear friend, she was panting from running all the way from where the ship landed to the inside of the medical area, she was feeling like a lost child in the rain, her thoughts weren't coherent, seeing through tunnel vision, eyes focusing only on the person the table, the nurses were trying to save. all sound around her was inaudible, helmet forgotten. She was a mess to say the least, anyone passing by would think she was battling a mudhorn earlier, but Sabine didn't care, her thoughts and prayers were on how to save Ezra.

"......Sabine?....Sabine... hey.. come on girl talk to me.....SABINE" Sabine finally heard her name loud and clear through the mess of indistinct voices in her head. she turned to look at the worried wide emerald green eyes of Hera, Sabine tried to speak, but her voice died out at her throat, she was definitely in shock. "Sabine i need you to focus, take a deep breath, come on you need to breathe with me... yes...in... out" Hera kept guiding Sabine out of her shock, she kept calm and steady, acting like a solid proof to reality until Sabine came back with a gasp, her pupils refocusing on Hera, tears already forming in Sabine's honey eyes "..H-Hera.." she choked out, Hera hugged her tightly, letting Sabine weep silently on her shoulders, staying like this for a while till Sabine's cries settled down to occasional sniffles. "Hey Sabine, i need you to tell me what happened, what made him like this?!" Hera asked quietly but sternly, not hiding the slight tremble in her voice. 

Sabine took a deep breath, "I-I didn't know W-What happened at first...when we reached the Chimera, we d-decided to split into four, to look for-for Ezra and T-Thrawn, Rex w-was the one who found him f-first, told us we need to hurry, w-we ran into the room... we found Rex h-holding Ezra between his arms , blood smeared on Rex's armor, saying he was hurt badly.. i don't know much else" Sabine replied shakily.

"Okay... I know this is hard for you, but i need you to believe in him, okay? I need you to stay calm and believe that the medics are doing the best they can to save him, alright?.. I'm going to talk to Rex but Zeb will stay with you" Hera rubbed Sabine's shoulder gently under her armor plates, and stopped when Sabine nodded at her direction, Hera gave her a tiny smile then left the room.

* * *

Heavy weight settled on a chair beside Sabine, startling her, she turned to look at Zeb, smiling slightly ,then went back to look at the floor, she was trying her very best not to burst into tears, and somehow looking at the tiled floor distracted her from the chaos around her.

"How are you holding up, eh? I never liked blood, but my job here and on Lasan forced me to cooperate and adapt to seeing scenes like this, even if I don't want to, but it is how it is".

"What's your point here, Zeb?" Sabine huffed angrily.

"All I want to say is, at one point or another, you will be dragged into situations like this, even with the people closest to you, so you just have to get used to it  
and toughen up".

"So you think i'm weak?!"

"No, of course not, you're one of the strongest people I've ever met, that's why I was shocked to see the state you were in"

"well, pardon me, this has never happened to me before to one of my closest people except for Hera, and you saw how angry I was then!"

"Yes I did, but this is different Sabine, and you know it"

Sabine was taken back by Zeb's statement to say the least, was it true? was it different? She had no answer for that apparently, but maybe Zeb was right.

When Sabine didn't answer, Zeb settled with a smirk at her direction that screamed 'I told you so' and then stayed silent.

Sabine's mind kept replaying what Zeb had said earlier, it was so subtle yet the message was very clear in her head, how did she get it so quickly? Was this actually true? She quickly disregarded the thoughts and decided to focus at the task at hand, but first, she needed a fresh breath of air, so she left the medical bay speedily to achieve so.

* * *

Rex was slumped against the guns at the top turret on the Ghost, helmet on the ground, deep in thought, slacked face looking at the sky of Yavin, but his war days kept him alert to any sounds happening nearby, so his ears swiftly picked on light but hurried footsteps that definitely belonged to the pilot who owned the ship he was currently staying on.

"Rex? I need to talk to you" The general asked while pacing around , almost talking to herself in panic. Rex jumped down the ladder, his armor was still coated with dry blood smeared on the chest plate, he was too worn out to wash it, but boy he wished he did, so Hera couldn't panic more than she already was.

"I need you to tell me what happened, what made Ezra like this? I know you wouldn't walk out of a crash unscathed, but this is extensive! he barely made it out!" Hera asked with a small voice, almost on the verge of the tears while holding her hands out, almost putting them on Rex's shoulders but instead they were hovering with no designed destination. Rex's heart broke at the way Hera was speaking, it was almost as if a mother was worried about her son who broke his leg.

Rex told her everything, from the point he entered the main room on the destroyer, how he managed to slide Ezra from under the boulder, and how he held him till help came. Hera's brave face was cracking so much that it was practically gone, her lekkus were trembling, but she tried to hold a straight face. "Oh Force, no" was all she whispered, she couldn't hold it anymore, she threw herself into the old clone's arms. Rex was stunned with this sudden approach but quickly reciprocated the move.

It was fascinating yet curious, how you act as an emotional support for a certain person, but still you need your own. Everyone has a weak point, even those who appear to be the strongest, one day, they will need this support too. 

Hera removed herself carefully from the hug, wiping her tears briskly, "I'm s-sorry, i didn't mean to-" Rex put up a hand to stop her blabbering, "It's okay, Hera,really, you needed this, I"m glad you did this actually, you needed to let this off your chest" Rex reassured her. Hera smiled at him gratefully and nodded her head slowly "Thank you Rex, I really needed this".

"Of course", Hera started to walk away, but before that, Rex quickly added, "And Hera..", Hera looked back at him, "He's going to be okay" Rex finished.

"yeah...He's going to be okay..... _ **he has to be**_ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Oh, I can feel a ship approaching, do you want it to land? Tell me in the reviews whether you would like Sabine's and Ezra's relationship to stay platonic, or evolve to something more?  
> -Next chapter is going to be in Ezra's POV, wooooh!, get ready for some Ezra whump! people.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- I'm so so sorry that i was this late, but this chapter took a lot out of me, I was in a writer's block and struggled to finish, but somehow I did! and I'm kinda proud of how it turned out?!  
> \- And i know i said this chapter was Ezra's POV, it is but not completely, I thought it would be boring to be only in first person, so I mixed and matched, I hope you guys like it!

Heat. Searing heat. I feel like I am being burned alive. Which coming to think of it, I might be.

What happened? Where am I? Why is everything so dark?...

Wait, Who am I?..... my memory is so fuzzy..

Am I dead?..... No..... this doesn't feel right.

From what I have been told, death isn't painful. Yet all I feel is pain. And flames. _**Like the flames are aching**_.

I stayed floating in this soul sucking black abyss for force knows how long. I feel like I'm weightless. But I do hear some muffled sounds. I don't know who these voices belong to. They just act like background noises for this strange place I'm in. I don't know who I am or, where I am.

I hope I remember soon, I don't think I will stay sane here for long.

\--

After Ezra was retrieved from the crash and transferred to the medical ship.

\--

"Hear rate low, third and second degree burns surrounding the chest and neck area, possible internal bleeding", "Pupils dilated, severe concussion expected", "Infected wound, may need blood transfusion", "Bacta treatment required", "OR ready doc", Voices overlapped each other. Belonging to either medical personnel or medical droids. All surrounding a limp form carried on a stretcher, being hurried to the operation room on the medical ship.

Loved ones and a few rebels were following the havoc the crowd of the medical crew were making, looks of surprise and worry worn on their faces.

Everyone in the Yavin base knows who Ezra Bridger is. The voice of hope. The spark of rebellion. Spectre 6. Many names are used to identify the young rebel, but the most famous one and the dearest one to Ezra's heart is "The Jedi". He likes how it sounds. How it fits him and how it makes him popular among other rebels. He just hopes that he deserves the title of a true Jedi. After Kanan passed away, he wasn't sure who he was anymore. It's like his life took a 180 degree spin and left him in a haze. Everything he ever believed in was turning into a questioning matter in his mind. Every action he took with confidence in the past, now he asks himself a hundred times before doing it. It was like a nightmare that he couldn't wake up from. But the Force finally showed him his path. Guided him to the right way. He didn't think whether he would survive or perish. It just was the clearest step he took ever since his master's demise. And that was all that mattered.

\--

Faraway whispers kept nagging at Ezra's ears, urging him to rouse. Ezra tried to turn a deaf ear to them. With little to no success in doing so. Ezra came to with a groan escaping his thin lips. Deep blue eyes fluttering open to the still dark space he floated in. No change occurred while he was away. Ezra suppressed a mental whine.  
Everything was still the same. He really didn't know what he was expecting. Maybe a spark or any sign to give him a gleam of hope. Sadly there wasn't any.

Remembrance came to him slowly in the form of fragments. Images Disembodied voices not belonging to a certain individual. Steadily turning into memories. Starting from his gloomy childhood. Places. Markets. Grass. Homeless children like himself. Stormtroopers began to form an environment around him. Ezra turned sharply around to look, seeing objects and people taking places in this scenery. Was this a dream? Or has he officially gone mad?

Ezra noticed the pictures taking shape start to move. Sounds and noises reached his ear. Rich smells of authentic mouthwatering Lothalian food and dirt made it to his nose and lungs. Shouting and utensils hitting the pots acted as background babbling. 'What in the force? What is this place?..... Why does it seem so familiar?' Ezra thought.

He started to walk slowly, eyes travelling o every corner. Saving the scene in his mind. Sellers and buyers arguing. Families buying goods for their homes, children running through him............. wait...... through me?......... What....... my mind started to race.... What's happening to me.... Am I even here?... Questions kept swarming my mind... brain running to overdrive... my breathing quickened as my lungs constricted... Heart beating twice as fast, I started to panic. Worry and fear swirling in my head. I tried to touch a jogan fruit on a cart next to me, and my hands ran through it!

I can't breathe... I can't breathe.... I started to back away hurriedly, careful to not slam into anyone.. wait... I can't slam into anyone..

I ran and ran and ran, not caring if I'm out of breath, I kept running and not looking back.. I was running so fast that the world around me was blurry.. my eyes only seeing through tunnel vision..

Suddenly everything came to stop.. When did I stop running?.. My mind had no answer.

I looked around to see myself in an alley, abandoned by the look of it, littered with old crates and trash, Why am I even here?

Taking a look, I didn't recognize anything, I only noticed faint writing and some traces of blaster shots on the walls, but why does it seem so familiar?

Eyes travelling down to notice a child curled into a ball sitting by a wall in the corner,... I swear this kid wasn't here a moment ago.. I walked cautiously towards him, he didn't move an inch from where he sat. I got close to him to see if he was even alive.. "Hello? kid, Do you.. by any chance.. know where are we?... or.. if this is even real?" I asked hesitatingly, reaching to put a hand on the kid's shoulder when suddenly he looked right at me menacingly, eyes the same blue as mine, like we are somewhat related.. He looked angry and about to hit me, I took a few steps back from where I knelt beside him.

"W-What's wrong?", The kid stood up, taking his look in, he wore torn and ragged clothes colored in what used to be white, face and hands smeared with soot and dirt, his face stood out in a heap of raven black hair, dirty and greasy... "You took everything away from me! my parents! my home! left me in the streets, scrounging to survive! What a monster you are!" The child yelled with hate intensifying his shouts, his deep fury hitting like pricks in Ezra's heart, "I don't even know who you are!" I replied.

The kid started to laugh loudly, throwing his head up and laughing to the sky, his giggles and chuckles filling the otherwise silent alley, clapping his hands together from how hard he was laughing.. I looked at him confused and a little scared, he doesn't look like he is in his right mind.

Suddenly he looked back at me with cold dead eyes and spoke with a monotone voice "I'm you Ezra, I'm everything you ever feared, and how ironic that everything that you were afraid of -" his image suddenly changed to a red and black male with horns on his head.. Maul "-Happened" The zabrak completed before changing to a blind version of his master, looking at Ezra with white eyes that used to be a beautiful shade of teal, "You couldn't even save your master from death" The image changed finally to the last look his master had, shaven face and hair with green seeing eyes, before turning into dust.

Everything came back to me at once, my memories, my guilt and my demons, it was overriding my mind and giving me a crushing headache. I remembered everything, and oh I wish I didn't, I was alone here yet in peace.

the four people I saw, including the kid, started to surround me, all repeating the same sentence "You can't escape us, Ezra, we're your demons" the four figures started to close in on me, I put my hands on my head, trying to stop the splitting headache they were giving me, my eyes looking frantically to each of them, I have to stop them, I don't know if I have enough strength to do so, I kept pushing my mind to consciousness using the force, It was straining me but it has to be done, It all became too much on me that I screamed, and everything turned black and silent.

.  
.  
.  
.

I was choking... something was in my mouth and I feel like I'm under water... I started to kick around at what seemed to be nothing.. until I heard an angelic and familiar sound that was music to my ears..

"Ezra!"  
.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- So I kind of put an Endgame reference without noticing lol, tell me If you notice it.
> 
> \- If you feel confused in this chapter, well, Ezra is floating in the world between life and death, struggling to remember who he was, he meets his demons taking shape as his younger self and then as Maul, etc. and then he finds his way back to the real world, waking up in the bacta tank and hearing Hera's voice.
> 
> _Tell me what you think!


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